The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-04-28

gen, forming with their potash a nitrate
that is an exceedingly valuable plant
food. Leached ashes can sometimes
be got for the labor of taking them
away, and owners of sandy soil should
take all they a find time to draw.
Besides their manurial effect they are
excellent to improve the mechanical
condition of light soils.
MATURING IN THE HILL.
All kinds of vines are benefited by
manuring in the hill, besides the amount
applied broadcast to the soil. But nan
ring in the hill needs to be done with
discretion, or it will do more harm than
good. Vines are enormous consumers
of moisture, and free bearers are more
apt to suffer from drying out in mid
summer than from any other cause
A forkful Of coarse, strawey manure
in a dry time makes the hill over it
dryer than ever. No straw or little
of any kind should be put under seeds
Of any kind in large quantity. Partly
fermented manure mixed with the
under soil, and thoroughly compacted
by treadiug down, attract moisture
and be a reservoir from which the
plants above may draw. One diff
Guilty in applying manure in the hill
is that it is thrown in too loosely and
the soil is not compacted around it.
MIXING FOOD FOR stool
1t is we'll known that a variety of
food for stock is better than any one
kind, partly for n reason that no M
food contains the full elements of
nutrition in their right proportions.
But with ruminants giving variety is
not enough. They will do better if
the different kinds are mixed before
feeding, that they may all come up
and be r~emasticated. Neither the full
benefit of hay or grain is secured by
feeding separately. 1t is commonly
supposed that the loss is chiefly in the
grain, which is too hastily and greedily
swallowed to be thoroughly digested.
But there is also a loss in the less
palatable forage, which, being eaten
WILL llCGIC IOllou uOco lOG CdhO Will IL
enough saliva to make sure of it's
thorough digestion. Whatever is
eaten with good appetite does most
good, though this rule is of scarcely
any practical importance to any except
human beings. Dumb animals never
eat unless they are hungry, and their
hunger is for what has most nutrition
instead of dainties to tempt the palate.
FEEDING YOUNG PIGS.
1t does not take long for a good
litter of young pigs to outgrow the
capacity of the SOW to furnish enough
milk to keep them thrifty. This milk
from its dam is the best possible
nournishment for young pigs as for all
other young animals but with eight
to twelve Or fifteen hungry stomachs
to be filled the sow cannot possibly
give enough milk to fully satisfy them,
however we'll fed she may be. By
the time the pigs are ten days to two
weeks old they will begin to eat, and
they should be helped to all they can
devour. A handful of oats or cracked
wheat is excellent for the young pigs,
and scarcely anything is better for the
old SOW. Corn should not be given
at this tender age, nor, in fact, in any
quantity until their growth is pretty
we'll made. 1t is a great loss to fail to
feed young pigs we'll, as they make
more growth from the same amount
Of n11frIrnnnf fhop of or hcn~,,o~t
time in their lives. And yet, relying
wholly upon what they can get from
the SOW, many pigs in large litters
become stunted even before they are
weaned, and their growth is so checked
that it costs nearly all they are worth
to get them started in growing again.
Unless the owner is willing to take
some extra pains in feeding the weak
lings a large litter of pigs may prove
less profitable than a small one.
UNDERTAKING. IN SPRING.
Although spring is usually a busy
time for men and teams, it is on some
accounts the best for understanding.
The soil while moist and loose from
recent frosts is much more easily dug
than after it has been scorched and
dried out by the heat of summer.
There is some advantage also in hav-
ing enough water in the ditch as dug
to secure a uniform fall. A depres-
sion of one or even two inches below
the grade may pass unnoticed, when
the bottom is dry, but with enough